Swimming set to return to Dow’s Lake this summer

The recreational dock at Dow's Lake is seen in this May 2025 image. (Peter Szperling/CTV News Ottawa)

The National Capital Commission (NCC) is planning another summer of swimming at Dow’s Lake.

A floating dock was first installed in 2025, with an outlined swimming area. In a post on social media, the NCC said the dock was returning for 2026. It was reinstalled on Tuesday.

The NCC says it’s still too early to swim, however.

“We’ll be kicking off our water quality testing program on June 1 to make sure conditions are safe for swimming,” the NCC said in a post on Instagram.

“Once testing is underway and conditions are right, we’ll share updates on when you can dive in.”

On its website, the NCC said that all 67 water samples collected from the Dow’s Lake dock swimming area during the 2025 season passed testing.

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